While major Big Box retailers have struggled to keep pace with consumer-driven demands for instant gratification, Sears Holdings has come up with new innovations to anticipate and serve shoppers with a new one-day ground delivery service supported by a dynamic DC network.

When an industry is changing rapidly, companies must adapt in order to survive. In this whitepaper, a global publisher was seeking a partner that could mitigate risk and build a platform flexible enough for their shifting customer expectations. The solution enabled the company to rewrite their operations game plan and transform their supply chain.

Join our panel of leading economic and transportation analysts as they share their exclusive insight on where rates are headed and the issues that will be driving those rate increases over the next 12 months.

In its fourth quarter earnings report, Fedex explained its 6 percent y-t-d improvement on strong yield improvement in all transportation segments, as well as volume growth of ground and international express shipments.

This is good news indeed, and mirrors observations made by industry analysts who maintain that “innovation” is the key to strengthening our nation’s logistics sector.

FedEx has attributed the increase in its fourth quarter revenue and earnings to continued strong yield improvement in all transportation segments, as well as volume growth of ground and international express shipments.

“FedEx Ground maintained its exceptional performance this quarter, increasing volume, yields and margins, while FedEx Freight returned to profitability, said FedEx executive vice president & CFO Alan Graf Jr. “Even with higher planned capital spending in fiscal 2012, margins, cash flows and returns are expected to improve year over year.”

The fortunes of Fedex may not represent a tide lifting all boats, however. According to Rosalyn Wilson, author of the esteemed “State of Logistics” report, the economy has been in a fragile state for close to four years now.
“The highly touted recovery in some sectors has not generated enough momentum to cascade into other less robust sectors,” she said.

After the most recent round of data releases, especially the disheartening rise in unemployment and drop off in freight volumes, Wilson and other analysts are revising their growth expectations downward.

“I too have watched this situation developing over the last two months and have concluded that we may have hit a wall,” she said. “It has been close to two years since the recession was pronounced over and for many Americans things have not improved.”

About the Author

Patrick BurnsonExecutive Editor

Patrick Burnson is executive editor for Logistics Management and Supply Chain Management Review magazines and web sites. Patrick is a widely-published writer and editor who has spent most of his career covering international trade, global logistics, and supply chain management. He lives and works in San Francisco, providing readers with a Pacific Rim perspective on industry trends and forecasts. You can reach him directly at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

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When an industry is changing rapidly, companies must adapt in order to survive. In this whitepaper, a global publisher was seeking a partner that could mitigate risk and build a platform flexible enough for their shifting customer expectations. The solution enabled the company to rewrite their operations game plan and transform their supply chain.

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